Don't Forget Me
by EchoFallsFromGrace
Summary: Maura's old friend, Jamie, winds up on her autopsy table, alive. Her coming back into the doctor's life throws Rizzoli and Isles down a path of lies, jealousy, and deceit. Eventual Rizzles! M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Rizzoli and Isles aren't mine. *Sniff***

"I know her." A pause. "I _knew _her."

Jane Rizzoli glanced up, breaking gaze with her black boots, to gaze at Dr Maura Isles. The honey blonde stood poised with a scalpel behind the autopsy table, a soft frown grazing her face.

"You know her?" Jane flipped through the case file on her lap. "She's a Jane Doe." A man had called it in earlier that morning, he had seen an 'unnatural glow being cast off the coast', by what he thought to be a box. The Coast Guard had checked it out, and immediately called Boston PD. She'd been naked, save for the reflective tape jacket she was wearing, and dead. So very dead.

Maura bit her lip. "Jamie Spencer. She's twenty-seven years old."

"Maura, I'm sorry." The detective jumped down from the table and closed the distance between her and the doctor. Maura shook her head, her frown growing, her eyes becoming misty.

"I hadn't seen her in close to six years."

Jane frowned; she knew Maura could get emotional, sometimes to the point where she'd break down and cry almost anywhere, but never over a dead body. Or at least, she'd never done so in front of the detective. Jane looked down at the pale body, the girl's blue lips. She looked incredibly soft in the harsh light from the overhead lamp, and she couldn't help but think that this girl had obviously been a friend of Maura's. She was beautiful. She looked rich. She was irresistible.

Jane took a slow breath.

"Are you alright?"

Maura glanced up and nodded curtly, wiping away at her tears with the back of her hand. "I'll be fine."

Not exactly a lie.

"Who was she to you, Maura?" Rizzoli crossed her arms.

"I met her at a Forensic Pathology camp I taught at in 2006, just a few months before you and I met." Maura sighed, placing her scalpel down on a nearby tray. "She was one of my students."

_"Doctor Isles?"_

_Maura looked up from her book, her brain coming out of a slight fog, her senses back on track, to gaze at a young woman with gray eyes and brown hair, a student of hers from her Third Degree Burn Pathology class. _

_"Spencer, right?"_

_"Jamie. Yes. May I?" She motioned to the chair across from Maura, who nodded and removed her purse from the table. Jamie sat down, carrying along with her two plates of tiramisu, and placed one in front of the doctor. _

_"What is this?"_

_"A thank you. For letting me sit." The younger woman smiled."But I imagine that I'd have left a plate for you regardless of your answer." _

_"Well I wouldn't say no to an Italian delicacy."_

_"I heard it's the best in the city." Jamie added, passing her a fork. "Your theories on third degree burns and the evidence taken from charred bodies such as ones that have been caught in fire are fascinating, Doctor Isles. Truly remarkable."_

_"You're too kind." Maura felt herself flush, the slight pink running from her collarbone up to grace her cheeks._

_"Not at all. You've made so many advances in the field." Jamie grinned, and scooted her chair closer to whisper comically. "And between you and me, Doctor Crosse's theories on frozen body evidence don't rival your articles." Maura laughed. _

"She was charismatic. Kind." Maura gazed down at the body in front of her. "Why do the best people end up on my tables? It's not fair."

"No. It's not. But she's got you looking after her." Jane said, placing her hand on the doctor's shoulder, rubbing it in a comforting circle. "She couldn't have found a better place than here."

Maura sighed. She turned on her recorder. "Jane Doe, age between twenty-five and thirty years old, healthy, brunette." Jane winced, noticing that Maura didn't even address the body by its name. But that was Maura Isles, always checking her facts before making a claim. Making sure that blood really was blood, and not just a reddish-brown stain.

"From the outside, probable cause of death would be blunt object to the back of the skull, followed by drowning if victim was not already dead." The doctor picked up her scalpel, took a deep breath, and sliced an inch into the skin underneath the collarbone.

The corpse opened its eyes.

**I'd love to know what you think, just to see if I should keep going or not! -Echo**


	2. Chapter 2

**As always, Rizzoli and Isles doesn't belong to me. **

"You have to admit that this happens way too often." Jane Rizzoli said around her hamburger. Maura did not look up from her lap. Her wine glass sat untouched in front of her.

The Dirty Robber was mostly empty, and it was so late that the owner had already started sweeping up the floor in the back. After the corpse, Jamie, had opened her eyes, Maura had screamed for a good minute as Jane scrambled to find bandages and gauze to patch up the hole the good doctor had made in the girl. The task had been hard. Maura rarely operated on the living.

She hadn't lost much blood, but had been in obvious shock, and had been sent to the hospital as quietly and quickly as possible. The doctors had said she'd be right as rain the next day, and that she'd be let out into police custody for questioning. Jane was looking forward to knowing her.

"I know." Maura finally sighed. Her mind shifted to previous cadavers that had awaken, Dennis, Olga, and she felt a shiver run through her body. She suddenly hoped that the girl wouldn't try to kill anybody like they had. "At least I didn't kill her."

"Yes, Maura, at least there's that. Way to look on the bright side. Jane replied sarcastically.

Maura ignored her. "I wonder if she remembers me…"

"Who could forget you?" Jane asked, lifting a napkin to her chin.

"Jane." The honey blonde's head snapped up, and she glared at the detective, who gazed back with wide eyes.

"Gosh, Maura, I meant it as a good thing." Jane said softly.

The doctor shook her head. "I'm sorry. I'm just so," She paused. "conflicted." She bit her lower lip.

_"Hi."_

_"Hi." Jamie grinned back. She turned to her side to face Maura. "How are you?"_

_"Sad." Maura announced after a pause. "Conflicted. I don't want this week to end. I can't imagine waking up without you."_

_Jamie nodded, absently running circles on Maura's thigh. She didn't meet her gaze, and they spent a moment in silence._

_"What are you thinking about?" Maura asked. Jamie sighed. She took a moment to mull over her words._

_"This week, Maura. It's been amazing. You are amazing." She cleared her throat. "But I can't help but think that in a few days, I'll be back in school, and you'll be in Boston at your new job."_

_"Jamie."_

_"Don't." Jamie sat up and Maura followed suit. "I know that tone. You want to talk."_

_"We _need_ to talk about this."_

_"Maura. No we don't."_

Jane scratched her nose. "If you want to talk about it…?"

Maura sighed. "I'll come find you. Don't worry." She added a smile, and took Jane's hand in hers. "Thank you."

The detective looked the doctor over carefully, absently running her thumbs over the pad of her friend's hands. The honey blonde had dropped her gaze to her lap, her hazel eyes darkening in thought, and Jane felt her heart hit a pang. She vowed to herself to find out what had happened to this Jamie, just for Maura, and only for her. She could care less about the brunette that had, a few hours earlier, been on an autopsy table, but seeing Maura distraught did something to her.

Maura offered her a ride home in her BMW, and Jane had politely declined, opting instead to walk the long way home. The doctor had frowned slightly, but instead of fighting it, she kissed Jane goodbye on the cheek and walked away, her heels _click clacking_ on the wet pavement.

Jane watched for as long as she could, then started trudging through Boston, staring at the ground, knowing that one way or another, she'd end up back home at one point. Alone.

Jane Rizzoli stared hard at the girl seated across from her. She knew that behind the one way glass stood Maura Isles, rapt and waiting. The girl had properly identified herself as Jamie Spencer (Jane had mulled over her name a hundred times the night before as she lay in bed), and sat, her right hand placed delicately over the nasty welt she had received, an ice pack slowly melting on the metal table. Apart from the light stitches that ran over her collarbone and the red gash across her scalp, she looked fine.

"Jamie." The name rolled easily over the detective's tongue. "Do you remember anything? At all?" The beautiful girl in front of her scrunched her nose, and then shrugged.

"Would you be mad if I told you no?" She asked back, splitting into a small smile. Jane did not grin back.

"This isn't the first time you've split your head open." She observed the hospital files in front of her. They lay amongst the other files on Spencer. There wasn't much to this girl.

"2006?" Jane replied. The year sounded familiar. She glanced at the one way mirror furtively. "Your memories-?"

"Before you ask," Jamie cut in. "no, I don't remember anything prior to that incident. Complete loss of memory. Amnesia." She explained. "Well, I'm lying, actually. I do remember a few things. Places. People. Martyrs." She locked eyes with Jane, then looked back down, her hand tracing incomplete circles on her stitches.

"People?" Jane echoed.

Jamie shrugged. "Celebrities. My family. But only my mother's side, ironically enough, I hated them. Still do."

Rizzoli stayed quiet, listening to the clock tick by. She took her time to truly assess the girl. Gray eyes, a brunette, with a button nose and a light sprinkle of freckles across her cheeks. Her ears turned red when she smiled, laughed, and got embarrassed, as she had a few hours before when Frankie had let out a "hot damn" as she walked by (Jane had cuffed him on the ears). She probably turned red when she lied too.

Her hands couldn't keep still. A nervous habit, most likely. Her fingers kept tracing patterns into the cool table, and she kept glancing at the door, frowning, then going back to gaze at the reflective surface. Jane fought the urge to ask Maura what she thought. Instead, she stood up to pace the room.

"Amnesia." She repeated. "Did you ever find out how you fell?"

"The officers that found me," _In the streets naked_. "think I just fell out of my tub after my shower. A psychiatrist worked with me for six months to regain my memories. I think I hit my head pretty hard." She paused. "Isn't it funny? How you can forget your childhood, your first love, your own mother and father, but not how to breathe? Or think?"

"Hilarious." Jane replied dryly.

Jamie ignored her. "But no, I don't know how I fell." She passed a hand through her hair, and took her time to look back up at the detective.

"Wait here." Jane instructed, and left the room. She couldn't take the sweet torture anymore. This girl was, in a word, perfect. Her voice, her body. How could she even compete? The detective pushed the thought away angrily. As soon as she cleared the doorway, Maura was on her, grabbing her by her forearms.

"Maura-"

"Let me see her."

"She might not remember you." Jane pointed out quickly. The doctor stopped struggling long enough to look up and frown slightly. Her arms dropped to her sides.

"She-" Maura bit her bottom lip. "She said she could remember a few things. Maybe…?" She blushed out of confusion. Jane sighed, and let go of the doctor's hands in defeat.

"Look, I'll let you see her. Just…Just don't expect too much." She couldn't stand to watch her best friend's heart break once again. Maura nodded.

Their roles had reversed, Jane now stood behind the glass. Bad cop, good doctor. Like out of a bad movie. Maura's voice floated down softly from the overhead speakers as she called out Jamie's name when she entered. Jane watched intently.

The girl lifted her eyes, cocked her head to the side, as if in thought. Maura's stance staggered. Then Jamie's face brightened, she opened her mouth, said the woman's name so softly Jane didn't hear her say it. She stood up, rounded the table, and pulled a teary eyed Maura into an embrace. Her ears turned red.

The ones who passed by Jane didn't notice her hands were gripping the windowsill so hard, her knuckles turned white.

**Feed my demons, they'd love to know what you think! (I swear, this story IS going somewhere)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Rizzoli and Isles does NOT belong to me. **

"I just don't trust her." Jane muttered. Across her desk, Barry Frost, her partner in law, rolled his eyes. He had argued all morning with the tall detective, and he knew he'd argue with her all afternoon as well. He personally liked the girl. He had only met her for a few moments before Jane had roughly pulled her into the interrogation room. He thought she was nice.

"I mean, who loses their memory and act s so nonchalantly?"

Frost sighed. "She acts that way because she doesn't know what she's missing. Amnesia, remember?" The black haired Italian stared him down, then raised an eyebrow.

"She remembers Maura."

She had a point, Frost had to concede. He just shook his head at her again, his eyes glancing back to his monitor. He was done with her. For now.

From across the way, Vince Korsak, opened his mouth. He had, of course, been listening the entire time.

"You're jealous!" He laughed. The two whipped around, Jane to glare at the sergeant.

"I. Am. Not. Jealous." She hissed. "I just find it fishy." She added to Frost, who shrugged.

"It's understandable that you feel threatened." Korsak continued. "Your best friend's time is suddenly being overrun by a person you barely know with an admittedly funky past." He failed to mention that she acted the same with all the doctor's potential dates.

"Thanks dad." Frost smirked.

"Oh be quiet." The older man snapped back.

"I'm not jealous." Jane repeated. She got up, grabbed her jacket with a flourish, and walked out of the bullpen, heading for the nearest elevator. Frost and Korsak watched her leave, then turned to gaze at each other.

"Whipped." Frost quipped.

"Oh yeah."

**A short elevator ride later…**

Maura was hunched over a body, whistling. The recent events of the day before and that morning had left her in an unusually good mood. Like when Ian came around. She just didn't want to acknowledge that whenever he left, it was to leave her in a shitty mood.

She heard Jane before she saw her, she was stomping in her boots, obviously mad at _something_. Maura smiled. She gazed up, tracing the detective's body with her eyes, going from her belt loop and up. She finally met her eyes after a second of admiring the Italian's body. She chided herself.

"Hello Jane."

"Maura." She replied curtly. "Almost done?"

The doctor held up her needle and thread. "Almost."

"Korsak and Frost are already there. They texted me about half an hour ago." She meant the Dirty Robber, of course. Maura nodded absently.

"Is it alright if Jamie comes?" She asked. "I promised her I'd spend the evening with her, but we always spend Friday nights at the Robber, so…?" She glanced up from her work.

Jane froze mid foot tap. "What?" Her mind raced. Jamie again. What was it with her?

And that's how they had ended up all squished at the same table at the Robber. Jane was angry. No. She was furious. She _always_ sat next to Maura when they were out with the boys. _Always_. But with Jamie thrown in the lot, she had ended up pulling up a chair to the end of the table. Frost and Korsak had barely talked all night, just sat there nursing their drinks as Maura and Jamie shared a laugh over things from their respective pasts. Jane looked on. She had abandoned her beer a long time ago. She didn't even feel like drinking. How sad was that?

The night dwindled on. Frost left first, calling an early night for himself. Korsak soon followed. Maura didn't notice the time until the clock struck midnight. She was having too much fun.

"Would you look at the time?" She laughed. "Do you still need a ride to the hotel?" She asked Jamie. The girl glanced at Jane, who gazed back, unfazed.

"Well, if you don't mind, I'd rather have Detective Rizzoli drive me." That got a hold of Jane's attention. She gave Maura a quizzical look, one that said _Don't ask me, I don't know what she wants_.

Maura frowned. "I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"Of course." Jamie grinned at her. The doctor slid out of the booth, pausing to lean into Jane's ear to whisper a quick "See you tomorrow". Jane shivered.

They watched her go.

Jamie had climbed into Jane's unmarked silently, and the detective had said nothing, slightly pissed that this _girl_ had offered herself a ride. And so she drove. Past the precinct, past the exit leading to Maura's brownstone (That she desperately wanted to go to, just to curl up with her friend on her couch to watch turtles mate or something), past her own apartment. The hotel was downtown. BPD had gotten quite the nice suite for this witness to nothing. _She's amnesiac._ Jane thought bitterly.

"Here we are." She veered to a stop.

"We need to talk."

"Good night Jamie." Jane replied forcefully.

"Detective."

Jane allowed herself a glance at the brunette, who stared at her in the dark with such intensity. She slumped against her seat and motioned for the girl to keep talking.

"I need you to grant me asylum." Spencer said quietly, as if someone was listening in. Jane raised an eyebrow.

"_Excuse me_?" She laughed. "Why? Who's after you? The boogey man?"

Hurt flew across Jamie's features, but she shook her head no. She started twiddling her thumbs, drawing patterns into her hand with her nail. She glanced that way and that. Jane's grin fell. She was acting the same way as she had in the interrogation room. Suddenly, all this sounded a lot worse than it had a few seconds before, and Jane couldn't help herself from mentally kicking her own ass. This was a girl who literally had no one to count on. Her parents hadn't claimed her. Neither had any friends. She only had the police.

"Who's after you?" She repeated, more intently, taking Spencer's hands into her own.

Jamie bit her lip. "Paddy Doyle."

**Dum Dum DUMMMM. Where is this going?!**

**My demons are pleased. But they would like me to inform you that they like cheesecake with their reviews. **

**And thank you to all of you who like my story, it means a whole lot! Lots of love is being sent your way!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I make no claims to Rizzoli and Isles.**

Jane let her hand go as if a scorpion had bit her. "Get out of my car." She spat.

Tears sprung into Jamie's eyes. "No! No, I mean it, I'm not lying!" She cried out. "Please, you have to help me."

"You think this is funny?" Jane asked, passing a hand angrily through her raven locks. "You're sick."

"No!" She repeated angrily. Jane found herself reaching for the gun at her belt, but she didn't take it out. Jamie sighed, and looked down at her lap, her hair covering her face. "I've made mistakes in my life. One being…" She paused. "I didn't tell you the truth earlier today."

Jane's hand fell from her gun. "What?"

"I'm not amnesiac." Jamie whispered. "Never was, never have been."

"You lied to me."

"I'm not a liar!"

"You're certainly not a saint." Jane snapped back. "What in the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"Let me explain before you judge me." Jamie warned. Jane didn't respond, and so she continued. "I'm running from Doyle because I work, well, _worked_ for him."

"And you think that acting like you lost your memory would make him forget about you?" Rizzoli sneered. "You've got no idea."

"Neither do you! That was _his_ cover for me after I got compromised all those years ago." Fresh tears threatened to spill over.

"Compromised?"

"I fell in love."

_With Maura_. She didn't even have to voice it, Jane knew by the look on her face. Jamie sighed, she seemed to almost deflate in her seat, all her gusto and self confidence disappeared.

"Doyle has a habit of keeping an eye on Maura. He sent me to do just that when she left for that pathology conference." Jamie admitted meekly. "When he found out that I took a liking to her, he ordered me out and faked an incident and outsourced me to Chicago for a few months. He made me disappear." She dabbed at her eyes with a sleeve.

Jane hated the way Jamie talked about it. She made it sound like she worked in an ordinary building with an eccentric boss, not in a crime lord's personal circle. It amazed her that the entire situation didn't seem to faze the girl at all. There was a word for that. Psychopath.

"He doesn't like it when people like Maura too much. I learned that the hard way." She added, and brought a hand up absently, rubbing at the red scar on the back of her head.

The detective's mind raced a hundred miles per hour. "You never told her." She meant Maura. Jamie looked up sharply and fixed Jane with a cold stare.

"Don't you _dare_ tell her."

Jane's hand fell back onto her gun.

"She'll never forgive me." Jamie added, more to herself than the Italian. "How do you explain to someone that you faked one accident to get away from them and another to see them again?"

"Shoulda thought about that before." Jane muttered. She paused. "You faked yesterday's incident? How?"

"I had help." Jamie pointed out, a little sadly. "A colleague of mine acquired some drug that makes one appear dead. I don't remember the name of it. And the forehead gash was accidental; I hit the rocks down in the bay. Unfortunately, he works for Doyle too, and knowing him, he's probably already told everyone about my little stunt. I should have thought about it clearly, but Doyle has it in for me." She turned to Jane. "That's why I need your help. I'm scared something's going to happen to me."

Jane didn't respond, just stared into the girl's gray eyes. When she really looked at her, she realized that the girl looked a little haggard, disheveled. Her arms were covered in scabs and scars and little pinpoints where she had used a syringe for God knows what. A haunting look filled her eyes. Alcoholic. Drug addict. Mobster. She was a mess.

Suddenly, Jane felt a whole lot better about herself.

"Please." Jamie added.

The detective stared straight ahead out of her windshield, the hotel sign's lights glaring back on the glass. She bit her cheek. "Fine. I'll do what I can." She hated lying to Maura. What was this girl doing to her? She turned to Jamie. "But only you and I know about this, got it?"

Jamie nodded fervently. She opened the car's passenger door; half hopped out, then sat back down. "Detective?" She asked.

"What?"

"I've noticed the way you look at her." The criminal (Jane could only think of her that way now) replied.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Jane took a sharp breath.

Jamie shook her head. "Just listen." Jane tilted her head towards her. "Don't be scared to do stupid things. Sometimes it turns out well. It did for me."

_When?_ Jane thought bitterly.

"She used to look at me with such love that I thought I'd burst." Jamie added. "And I took a chance. And it went well. If you love her, she'll love you back." She bit her lip. "I think she already does."

"You don't know what you're talking about. You're just a kid."

Jamie smiled sadly. "Make her happy for me, will you?"

She didn't wait for an answer, just climbed out of the car and headed for the hotel's French doors. She was out of view in but a few seconds. Jane slumped into her seat, and thought. The girl's chilling last words rang through her head, they sounded too ominous to cast aside.

**Well how's that for a doozy?**

**Thank you to all who push me to finish this story, Ch 5 is being written as we, er, type.**

**(My demons are satisfied.)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Rizzoli and Isles aren't mine.**

Jane didn't want to sleep that night, she had gotten home too late to do anything but lie in her bed, and anyway, the night's events swam behind her eyes whenever she closed them. Maura's smiles, Jamie's torn face. Jamie Jamie Jamie. It was always about Jamie. Jane felt like screaming. If the girl was so amazing, why didn't she get a fucking medal? Oh, that's right, _Jane_ had one. More than one. On her hip. On her hands. On her ribs. Not Jamie. She bit the inside of her cheek.

And then she remembered. The girl was a thug. Why was she even comparing herself to her? She had a career, friends, a house and Jo Friday. She didn't have to run from her boss or fake her own death to talk to people. And yet, there was such sincerity to her. A serenity. Did she wake up in the middle of the night, sweating and screaming at the top of her lungs?

Jane turned to face the phone on her bedside table. She considered calling Maura. Telling her what she'd found out. Telling her she loved her. She buried her face in her pillow, to think.

The next morning, she was picking up her little protégée.

Jamie climbed in, and quickly realized that the detective didn't want to have a conversation, by the way her face frowned, by the way she sat, her knuckles tight around the wheel. She drove quickly, without fault. She was a cop through and through. Jamie just didn't know how to feel about the Italian by her side. She cared about Maura, she knew that. _And she could give a rat's ass about yours truly_. Jamie thought to herself. But Jane Rizzoli was loyal, that much was obvious. Maybe she didn't like her, but she wasn't going to just give up on her, like so many before. _Right?_

Jane left Jamie with Frost. She didn't want anything to do with her and her lies. _Not now_. _Not after last night._ In the bullpen, Korsak glanced her over.

"You okay?" He asked, wiping the last bits of doughnuts from his mouth.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Jane replied, sitting down heavily. "Tired."

"Who isn't." Korsak chuckled.

"I have a hypothetical question for you." Jane said, rubbing at her eyes. "If, let's say, hypothetically, someone wanted you to keep a really _really _bad secret that could potentially end up breaking your friend's trust in you, what would you do?" She asked.

"Hypothetically?" He echoed.

"Hypothetically."

"If it was to save said friend, I'm sure she wouldn't mind if you lied to her." The sergeant said slowly, mulling his words over.

"Who said it was a she?"

He returned a pointed look. She wasn't about to fool him.

Jane went back to her computer monitor, glancing that way and that, noticing that the room was eerily empty. It bothered her, the emptiness. The calm before the storm as they said. Outside, sirens wailed up and down the street, over and over again. She stomped to the window, slammed it shut. She couldn't concentrate on her situation like that. How was she supposed to figure this shit out?

Frost burst into the room, Jamie hot on his heels. "Jane, we've got a bit of a problem." He charged towards the television in the corner, turned it on, and stepped back. The screen was full of grays, oranges, and yellows, and it took a moment for Jane to realize that what she was staring at, was fire. The buxom blonde on the TV looked extremely disheveled.

"If you're just tuning in, what you're staring at right now _used_ to be the Excelsior, an upstanding hotel here in the heart of Boston. The blaze is still being fought valiantly by the firefighters," An explosion rocked her back, and she shut her eyes closed, but continued a split second later. "No idea on how many are trapped inside, or what the body count is just yet-"

Jane glanced outside. Firetrucks dove through the streets, sirens blaring. The channel had changed back to the newsdesk.

"Isn't that where you're staying?" Korsak asked the girl in the corner.

"Was staying." Frost corrected.

Jane silently cursed.

A few hours later, they would find out what had happened.

Paddy Doyle had found where Jamie had been staying.

**That night…**

"Please, let her stay with you for the night." Maura begged. "Doyle knows where I live."

"We're best friends! Doyle knows where I live too!" Jane laughed right back.

They stood in Jane's apartment, arms crossed, an angry look on Maura's face, amusement on Jane's. _Why is she being so difficult?_ She asked herself. She had, of course, noticed the resentment on Jane's face that seemed to appear whenever Jamie's name was mentioned or she was alluded to, but she couldn't comprehend _why_.

She had, of course, guessed that Jamie had told them about their, ah, past, and her theory had been confirmed when she had cornered the younger woman in the morgue during a conversation between the two. Jamie's ears had turned a bright red and she had squeaked out a "Sorry". Maura had brushed it aside, what else was there to do? But she couldn't wrap her head around Jane's behavior of late. It was jealousy, territorial, messy.

A shiver ran through her as she stood her ground here in the tiny apartment. Jane's eyes were a dark chocolate brown, lit up with annoyance and laughter, aimed at Jamie and at the doctor at the same time. Every few seconds, the dark eyes flitted from Maura's hazels to glance at Jamie, who stood by the door sheepishly, a sleeping bag underneath her arm. Maura had provided it.

"Jane." She whispered, and gave her her best pouty look. Jane's stance faltered only enough for Maura to notice the hint that she was crumbling underneath her exterior bravado.

"God! _Fine._" Jane snapped, and moved aside. The girl walked in, head swiveling from left to right. Her first cop apartment. She was almost giddy. Maura gave the detective a knowing look, and patted her shoulder affectionately.

"Thank you." She said earnestly.

"Rules!" Jane turned around, ignoring the M.E, who chuckled. "You don't touch _anything_." Jamie cringed, and retracted her hand, the one reaching out to touch the pictures on the mantel piece.

"You don't feed the dog, I'll do that. You sleep on the couch. And you make as little noise as possible. Got it?"

Jamie nodded quickly, then frowned. "You're sure we're safe?"

Jane glanced at Maura, who shrugged.

"I can't answer that." The detective sighed. "I'll try, okay?" She added, giving the girl a pointed look. A reminder of their earlier promise to each other." Jamie seemed to understand, and resumed her tour of the cop's house.

"Did anyone follow you here?" Jane had turned around to face Maura, to whisper. The doctor bit her lip.

"I don't think so." She said quietly. "I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary." She grasped her best friend. "You'll look after her?"

Jane smiled, opened her mouth to speak,

The shots rang out. The window shattered, sending a bullet astray and glass everywhere. Another hit the fridge, pinged before hitting the floor, one hit flesh. Before Maura had time to clearly comprehend what had happened, Jane had pushed her down to the floor, yelling out a warning, and Jamie was on the floor, her hands clutching her chest, blood flowing through her fingers. Maura dropped to her knees harshly. Jane pushed them both a little closer to the floor, unstrapped her gun, ran out of the door, her phone already dialing dispatch, down to the lobby, down into the street.

"Jamie…?" Maura crawled to where the girl had fallen, she cradled her head into her arms, onto her lap.

"Still here."

"It's gonna be okay. It's alright. You'll be fine." The doctor's lower lip quivered. She glanced around for something, _anything _to stop the bleeding. The brunette lifted a hand up to Maura's cheek, smearing blood on the ME's face, and took all the attention.

"Please forgive me for all I've done." She pleaded. "Please, Maura?" Isles didn't know what the girl was talking about, but she nodded anyway. Jamie's spirits seemed to lift for a moment as she forgot about the bullets in her chest.

She coughed up blood that ran over her and onto the hardware floor and into the cracks. Dark and harsh to the doctor's eyes, pumping out regularly as her heart tried to figure out just what to do. She looked up one more time at Maura, took one last breath that rattled in her ribcage. Her eyes flickered between open and closed, then finally settled. Maura's hand flew to her mouth, stifling a gasped sob. "No no _no_." She stammered.

She had just gotten Jamie back. Two days. She'd gotten _two fucking days_. She wanted to get to know this girl again. Maybe she wouldn't have let it get as far as the time before, but who would know now?

_"I think I love you." Jamie grinned._

No no no.

_Jamie laughed melodiously, as they both stared out in the cold night, the stars above them._

No fucking no.

_Jane turned to glance at her. "Not everyone's got a heart of gold, sistah."_

Jamie dead on the floor.

_"You're gorgeous, my friend." Maura smiled. Jane blushed._

Jane dead on the floor.

Maura let out a small scream, full of hate and anguish, as she stared down. Blood and memories. Unconsciously, she knew what the last few days had meant now. Her best friend…?

Jane rushed in, eyes dark, hair wild, gun unused. "Maura-!"

The doctor looked up, tears now flowing freely down her face. One word on her lips.

"Jane."

**Long chapter is long. My demons needs sleep.**

**I'm afraid, my little devils, that I won't be able to update for another week or so, since I have to make an emergency trip home, and I can't take my files with me, but the chapter will be done by the time I get back! Don't worry, I'll finish :) Rizzles is next. Goodbye Jamie, helloooo Jane. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Rizzoli and Isles don't belong to me!**

Maura Isles cried for the better part of an hour, Jane holding onto her, caressing her hair and whispering sweet nothings into her ear. Frankie and Frost had been over to bag the body, and Maura had signed off on the morgue papers with a shaking head, her tears barely held in. The men in the apartment did not meet her gaze. So she held on tight to Jane.

The detective made sure the boys understood to give the body to Dr Pike. She didn't want Maura going through that. And on an impersonal note, she knew that the murderer's trial, when he or she would be found, would never stand if an emotionally corrupted M.E. with ties to the victim did the autopsy.

She drove Maura home; the doctor stared out the window the entire time. The tears had stopped flowing hours before, after the police investigation, but her face was still flushed and wet. Jane wanted nothing more than to reach over and take her hand and to make everything better.

Jane stayed over that night. Her apartment, once again, was a crime scene. Maura had unlocked her front door, dropped her coat on the couch, and walked straight to her bedroom, closing the door behind her. A little hurt at the gesture, Jane went to the spare bedroom, slipping under the unfamiliar sheets. She was so used to staying with the doctor. She stared up at the ceiling, thumbs hooked behind her head, replaying the gruesome scene in her mind. If she closed her eyes, she could see the blood spilling out of Jamie, the bullet going through, the shocked look on the young girl's face. If she kept her eyes open, Maura's tear stained face haunted her.

It only took half an hour for Maura to climb in and curl up beside her. Maura found Jane's shoulder easily, nuzzling her head into the crook of her neck, bringing her arm to rest over the detective's waist. Jane gripped her hand back, turned halfway so that Maura was more comfortable. She felt hot tears spilling onto her shoulder, and she found herself tracing circles on the doctor's back with her free hand.

It took her an hour to finally fall asleep. Jane slept better than she had in a while.

Maura left early the next morning, slipping into the cover of dawn before Jane properly woke up. The detective, undeterred by Maura's actions, found the doctor in the morgue, behind her desk, her eyes trained on her computer. Jane paused at the door to gaze at her.

"Do you stare at people often?" The M.E asked, her attention still on the screen.

"Only the ones I stalk on a regular period." Jane replied with a grin. Maura smiled back. "You're in a deceptively good mood."

Maura glanced up.

"Are you as happy on the inside as you look on the outside?"

That was it. Maura felt her outer wall crumble. And then she was crying silently, and Jane was rushing over, pulling the door close, reaching for a box of tissues.

Maura could remember mistaking Jamie for Jane, the shock more for the fact that the bullets could have ended up in the detective more than for the girl slowly dying on the floor. She felt horrible for thinking that way, but it had happened, and the guilt was eating away at her now. But she just _couldn't_ get the picture of Jane's bloody body out of her mind, her naked body lying on an autopsy table, being opened, examined, closed, as cold as the slab she was lying on.

"No no no, stop." Maura pushed her away. She sniffed once, twice. "I'm fine."

"No you're not!" The detective protested. She pushed Maura down onto the couch, sat beside her, took her hands into her own and ran circles over her palms with her thumbs. Jane only had to say her name; the love would come by itself. Just had to say her name and Maura would understand everything, what consumed her thoughts every day, who she craved for and what she wanted out of life. Could she do it? Was now the right moment? _Jamie's just died, for fuck's sake._ She scolded herself. She gazed at the honey blonde.

"Maura, I really am sorry." She started. "I-" She paused, unsure. "I'm here for you." _Good job, Rizzoli. "I'm here for you". Right. Totally what you wanted to say._

"Jane, it's okay." Maura said softly. She took a deep breath. "I know." She fixed Jane with such an intense gaze that the detective knew what she meant right away. "I do too, believe me." The Italian frowned, and seeing it, Maura grinned softly, letting out a laugh in between her choked sobs.

"Why are you laughing?"

"You can be so jealous." Maura shook her head, her fingers playing with the tissue in her hands. "Don't you think I noticed?"

"Noticed _what_?" The taller woman asked.

"That you love me."

Jane' s breath caught in her throat, and she fought back the urge to cough violently in embarrassment. She felt her cheeks burn. Maura smiled a little more.

"You could have asked, you know." The M.E. pointed out.

"Asked?"

"If I still liked Jamie." Maura explained. "I didn't."

Jane's face scrunched up. _You didn't?_ She could have sworn she'd seen everything in a different light the entire week. But it made sense now. Maura had been abandoned by her birth mother, been ignored by her adopted parents, had found out her real father was in fact an Irish mobster, and had had her heart broken so many times, once, long ago, by a girl by the name of Jamie who disappeared in the night and never came back.

So why would she have suddenly trusted someone she hadn't seen in years and who she had thought had abandoned her like so many before? Jane was suddenly angry at herself.

"I didn't." Maura repeated, taking Jane's chin and making the Italian face her. "Because I love _you_." A silent moment was spent between them.

"Are you busy?" Jane asked.

Maura frowned. "No, not really. Why?"

"Let's go home." Jane tugged on Maura's hand, which followed with a grin.

**I know, it was harsh of me to let you guys wait more than a week for the update, but I had a funeral to go to, so there.**

**The next chapter will be smut. Just letting you know, my wee devils. But it won't be the last, I've got a few loose ends to tie up! Mwahaha.**


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm sad to report that I STILL don't own Rizzoli and Isles. **

Jane drove quickly in the unmarked, Maura's nails biting into her thigh, the passion rolling off of her in waves. It took all of her efforts not to run the car off the road. They entered the brownstone, and stood awkwardly, gazing at each other from different ends of the living room. Jane could see Maura's arm flexing as she gripped the couch.

The detective suddenly cleared the distance between her and the doctor. She connected their lips together in a bruising kiss. Maura felt fireworks go off in the back of her brain. Her thoughts went fuzzy. When they parted for air, Jane looked deep into Maura's dark eyes.

"I could get used to this."

Maura smiled and kissed Jane back, her tongue sliding over the woman's bottom lip, asking for entrance, and when Jane let her in, their tongues met in the middle, exploding lights flashed behind both women's eyes. They dueled for supremacy. It was almost primal. After all the shit they'd just been through, Jane needed Maura, Maura needed Jane. The detective pushed the doctor back until they hit the kitchen island, never breaking their heated battle, and she lifted Maura easily onto the granite counter top.

"Are you sure?" Jane asked between collarbone nips. Maura replied by working diligently on Jane's shirt buttons, then flinging the shirt across the room, not caring where it landed. She licked the top of Jane's breasts, loving the feel of the woman's hands in her honey locks as Jane tugged her this way and that.

Jane took a step back, wrenched away from Maura. The doctor gazed at her, confused, her hands still in the air, around an imaginary pair of hips. The detective could feel her breath coming out ragged, and she closed her eyes, shook her head.

"Not like this." She explained. Maura's gaze softened.

"I thought you were rejecting me." The M.E. chuckled.

"No no no." Jane blinked. "Never." She pressed a hand to her chest, willing her heart to slow down. She wanted Maura more than anything. But she didn't want their first time to be in the kitchen. On the counter. That was so cliché. She shook her head again, glanced up at Maura, who had dropped her hands into her lap, a soft frown on her face, as she tried to figure out what was going on in Jane's mind. Jane glanced at the clock. It was still early enough, she decided. She held out the doctor's shirt.

"What are you doing?" Maura asked, taking it.

"We're going on a date."

And so they did. Jane drove them to a restaurant Frankie had recommended a few weeks before, it had roof tables, which Jane thought would be great. It was November in Boston, but the night was especially warm, cloudless, and just _perfect_. Maura stayed close with lingering touches on Jane's body, sending electric signals coursing through the detective, who shuddered in want and anticipation. The ME wasn't being overly obvious to the others, but to Jane, it meant the world. They talked about everything and nothing. It relaxed them both after the hectic pace of the last few days.

They ordered a tiramisu for dessert, Jane for the fact that it was Italian, with lots of subtexts, and Maura, for other reasons she did not voice. Jane lifted the first fork up to the doctor's mouth, who delicately ate it off, gazing at the detective the entire time, heat smoldering in her eyes. It took all of her willpower to not clear the table and take her right there and then. _Home, Rizzoli. Get home first._ Jane paid for the meal rather quickly, Maura thought, amusement bubbling inside her. She knew how to push the detective's buttons better than anyone.

And the ride back was, if possible, even more horrendous to endure than the ride over. Maura kept clicking her tongue impatiently, Jane wincing every time as she tried not to go _too_ far over the speed limit or run _too_ many red lights. _Where's that siren when you need it?_ She thought, annoyed. She practically ran to the front door.

They found themselves in the same position as before, Maura on the counter, her arms circling Jane's neck as the taller woman made her way down the doctor's neck. _Looks like it's the counter anyway._ Jane internally laughed. She felt Maura hitting her shoulder.

"Jane, bedroom." She hissed.

_Nevermind._ Maura's legs wrapped around the detective's lithe body, and Jane maneuvered them to the bedroom, dropping Maura unceremoniously onto the bed, her shirt coming off at the same time. Maura grabbed her by the hair, brought her down for another heated battle, Jane loving the feel of her tongue in her girlfriend's? lover's? friends with benefits's? mouth. Maura found Jane's nipple easily, sliding her teeth over it, encircling it. Jane gasped, and emboldened by the show of appreciation, the doctor ran her hand up to run over the other dark nipple.

Jane pushed her back, grabbing her skirt by the hips, and in one fluid motion ripping it off. Maura let out a little squeak of indignation at the skirt's treatment, but quickly forgot as Jane climbed on top of her. The detective's knee hit her core as she moved around, and Maura's mouth dropped open in a moan. Jane continued sucking on her neck.

Their lips and fingers explored for countless minutes, all their pent up feelings (Jane's more than Maura's) running the show through whimpers, gasps, moans.

Maura tugged at Jane's hair again.

"Down oh god go." All in one spent breath. Jane smiled against her skin, proud of herself. The famous Maura Isles was speechless. She nuzzled down the doctor's perfect body, stopping at her breasts for a few seconds of quiet revering. _I'm gonna call it the Rack of God. _Jane decided as she moved lower. Her fingers hooked into her lover's underwear, pulling them off as she reached her destination and settled herself down on her stomach. Maura was far enough up the bed that they had a clear view of each other.

"Look at me." Jane ordered. Maura's eyes shot open, her eyes dark with pure lust. The doctor nodded.

Keeping their gazes locked, Jane bent her head down and swiped her tongue through Maura's fold. Maura bucked against her.

"You're beautiful." The detective added. She bent down again, and resumed working on the honey blonde.

The only sounds in the room were Maura's heavy pants, gasps, encouragements to _go faster, oh god right there right-fuck_. Jane's tongue penetrated her as far as she could go, collecting as much of the doctor as she could on her tongue before moving up to suck and nip on her clit. Jane held her hips down firmly.

"Up, up here." Maura managed to pant out. Jane happily obliged, snaking up the doctor's body, replacing her tongue with two long fingers that entered Maura easily, who bucked harder and faster. Jane kissed Maura, the ME tasting herself on the detective, loving the way they fit perfectly. Jane's thumb moved in time with her fingers against Maura's clit. She could feel nails leaving angry red marks in her shoulders, and she realized gladly, that she could really care less. She'd wear them like a badge of honor. Hell, she'd show them to Frost and Korsak.

"Let go." She whispered.

Maura came hard, her eyes screwing shut as she called out Jane's name in the blind white heat she felt coursing through her body. Jane moved inside her, drawing out the woman's orgasm for as long as she could, Maura's body bucking less and less until finally, spent, her hips fell back against the mattress. Her eyes remained closed, she breathed heavily for a few more seconds.

"Jane." She said softly.

"Hmm mmm."

Hazel eyes met chocolate. "I love you."

Jane gave her a dazzling smile. "I love you too."

Maura fell asleep against her, exhausted, but Jane didn't mind. She was content with just lying there, stroking the doctor's back. She knew the doctor would reciprocate later. She couldn't wait.

Her phone buzzed. She lifted it off the bedside table, and frowned at it.

A text message from an unknown number.

_Check the stomach content of your newest patient._

Jane shuddered.

**'Can't Get You Out Of My Head' was playing while I was writing. The Pandora demons know what they're doing, I tell ya. **

**What shall happen next?! *creepy music cue* Reviews are appreciated :D**


	8. Chapter 8

**I was rereading myself the other night. I would like to apologize. I can't write smut to save my life.**

**Rizzoli and Isles aren't mine. And I sure as heck won't be writing an episode anytime soon. **

"I need to see the girl's stomach contents."

"As much as I remember, Detective Rizzoli, you relinquished this body to _me_. I will not have you take _my_ files to Doctor Isles."

Jane glared at Dr. Pike from across the room. She took a few steps here, a few steps there, trying hard not to throttle the life out of the man hovering above Jamie Spencer's body.

She had walked in, seen the girl, and thrown a sheet over her before looking for the elderly ME. She couldn't look at Jamie. What she _had _seen wasn't pretty. Pike hadn't started working on her yet, she was still in her bloody clothes, lips and eyes deathly blue, staring up at the ceiling with a serene expression on her face, as if she had finally found peace in death. Maybe she had.

He had curtly told her to come back later that afternoon for the full result. She had bristled with anger at his tone, but had let it be. As they said, she had other fish to fry. And when she _had_ come back, about half an hour before she was off to Maura's, he was now pulling _this_ shit. At least Jamie was back underneath a sheet.

Jane took her gun slowly out of its case, brought it up to rest on the cool metal table separating her and Dr. Pike. He gulped.

"You're despicable." Her threw her a folder. "Have fun gallivanting with your female ME."

"I will, thanks." She gave him a pointed look.

He shook his head as she left. "Women." He told the empty room. He whistled as he moved over to Dr. Isles's office, admiring the décor with a sneer of utter distaste. He settled down in her chair, moving that way and that to get comfortable.

He almost fell out as a voice barked from the hallway. "_Get out of her chair._"

Jane had parked herself in her seat up in the bullpen, and splayed out the results of the autopsy on her desk. She had twenty minutes before Maura would get worried that she hadn't called to say she'd be coming home. She ignored the noise around her as she poured herself into the work on front of her.

_"Stomach Contents: Undigested food. Comprised of noodles, spices, smoked meat, and carrots, most likely an Asian dish."_

Jane had brought Chinese over for lunch.

_"Side note: Also found, little black chip, non-organic."_

The detective bit back a gasp. She tripped over her desk trash can as she ran downstairs, Korsak and Frost casting glances her way as she stumbled through the bullpen. The elevator was taking too long. She took the stairs, took them two at a time down to the morgue, practically ran into the glass door.

Pike was already gone. She rifled through the last few cases, searching for Jamie's name, finding it on the lowest shelf. She grabbed the box, smacked it down on the nearest autopsy table, looking through its content, until, finally, she found the little glass jar she'd been searching for.

Inside was a little chip, complete with a mini motherboard.

She ran back up to Frost.

"Can you run this?" She gasped out, one hand on her hip as she tried to find her breath. He cast her an uneasy glance.

"I was about to leave."

"Frost, please. I'll buy you lunch for a week."

"I'd take that deal." Korsak called out. "Goodnight folks." They waved at him simultaneously. Frost sighed, gave Jane a pointed look, and took the jar from her hands.

"Where did you find this?"

"It was in Jamie's stomach."

He let the jar slip through his fingers in disgust. It landed heavily onto the desk, thankfully not shattering. He rubbed his fingers together, a grimace on his face.

"That's disgusting." He pointed out. "It's fascinating though, that it hasn't corroded."

"Corroded?"

"Yeah, stomach acid would have eaten up at that thing. Are you sure it was in her stomach?"

Jane blinked once, twice. "Just run it." She turned away to face the windows, biting on a knuckle as she thought. _Stomach acids don't just disappear once somebody dies, rules out the possibility that she ate it right before dying, or was made to swallow it _after_ she died. Which means…_

"Got something. That was actually really easy." Frost smiled. She whirled around, rolled him out of the way, stuck the USB on her keychain into the computer, and quickly downloaded the files the younger detective had found. She exed out of the files.

"Don't look at them. I'll know if you did, got it?"

He shrugged, still a little miffed that she had so deliberately pushed him out of the way. _When Rizzoli angry, she always act like this_. He recited in his mind with a grin. _Oh Tintin._

The entire drive home, she kept stealing glances at the USB and the little chip on her passenger seat. She snapped her laptop open as soon as she parked, looking up at Maura's door as it booted. _Please don't come out. Please hurry up you stupid-_

Ding.

She 'aha'ed in triumph, stuck the USB in, and watched the files she had downloaded earlier pop up and invade her screen. Her chocolate brown eyes followed each page that showed up as they piled on top of one another, her face furrowing into a frown. She opened a Microsoft Word doc that looked suspiciously like a letter.

"_Jane."_

Well fuck.

"_Here's all the information I could get about Paddy Doyle. I had to pull a few strings to get my accomplice, who shall remained unnamed, to get this, hopefully, into Maura's lab, and for him to send you that text. You got this, it means I'm dead. It's funny writing a letter, knowing you won't get an answer, 'cause you're DEAD."_

Hilarious.

"_In any case, don't let Paddy near Maura. He'll tell her everything. Remember martyrs? If we let all their secrets be divulged, they wouldn't be martyrs anymore."_

"Well, I'm lying, actually. I do remember a few things. Places. People. Martyrs." Jane recalled the words from a few days earlier, remembering Jamie's gray eyes boring into hers with such intensity. Jane shut her eyes. She should have realized.

_"And take care of Maura for me. Love her, as I know you're able to. Don't let her down, like I did. It was the worst mistake I ever made. Don't let her get away._

_ -Jamie"_

Jane closed the document, the remaining files swimming into her vision. Personal emails between Paddy and his allies. Pictures of victims. A Xeroxed hit list. A long one. So long that Jamie's name was on it, next to it scribbled the year, 2006, the reason why, simple and to the point "_Maura_."

She scrolled down, feeling her heartbeat quicken as she passed dates and names she knew and remembered well, their bodies flashing into her head. Most they hadn't even known had been tied to Doyle's mob. She slowed down by 2012, her breath catching in her throat as she spied a very familiar name.

_Bang bang._ Her head snapped up, the lid to her computer snapping down, as she looked up into Maura's eyes, a grin on her face, her fist still up from knocking on the glass. Jane rolled the window down.

"Maur, you scared the shit out of me."

"Sorry. Are you coming in? You've been sitting in here for ten minutes. Everything alright?"

Jane gave her a reassuring smile. "Yes, everything's fine. Just finishing up a little bit of work for Korsak. I'll be right in."

Maura smiled back, gave her a peck on the cheek, and sashayed back into her house. Jane sighed, opened her laptop up, the screen lighting back to life. Her eyes trailed the name written in red ink.

_"Jane Rizzoli. 2012. Maura._"

**Get it? "Sashayed"? Because her name is Sasha? Get it? Haha, I'm great, I know. **

**I don't know how many more chapters there's going to be. Indulge me, stick with me, you shall be rewarded, my flying monkeys won't be sent after you.**

**I'm kidding. My flying monkeys are too busy cleaning my house to do any fighting. Maybe I'll send the rabid squirrels. They're useless around the kitchen. **


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry it took me so long to update :/**

_Jane's been fiddling with her beer all evening_, Maura can tell, and she cocked her head at the movements, and she frowned slightly, and even pouted her lip out a little bit, but the usually clever detective saw nothing of it, and Jane called an early night, leaving the doctor in her kitchen, wondering just what went wrong this time.

She circled the island, once, twice, deep in thought, Jane's dog, Jo Friday, nipping at her heels in excitement. She ignored him. She glanced at the things Jane has brought in with her. A duffel bag with clothes from their earlier workout. _No laptop?_ She could have sworn she saw Jane with it in her car. _She probably forgot it. And like a good girlfriend, I'll go get it._ She grinned at herself, tugged on a jacket, and quickly retrieved the equipment through the falling snow, pausing slightly to take in the flakes shifting to make a layer on the ground. _We'll have to take a walk through the snow tomorrow._ She can't help being romantic.

The laptop was still booted when she opened it in the comfort of her kitchen. Her eyes raked over the information quickly, a pang of guilt hitting her stomach, realizing that she's looking through Jane's things without her permission. She's closing the screen down when her eyes catch something in the corner. _Paddy Doyle_? She froze, her heart pounding in her ear. That can't be right. What would Jane be doing looking into Paddy? She shakes her head, ignoring it. Jane has a reason for everything.

Maura found her way into her bedroom, pausing at the doorframe to smile at Jane's sleeping figure. She took off her shirt, not caring anymore if she's in her undergarments with Jane, and slipped into bed besides the detective. Jane shifted to encircle the doctor into her strong arms. Maura sighed into the touch.

"We're off tomorrow." Jane reminded her in a whisper.

"And?" A smile tugged at Maura's mouth.

"And you haven't paid me back yet." The detective rasped out. Maura couldn't help the shiver that ran down her spine.

"Jane?" She asked, softly, as the detective closed her eyes again.

"Hmm?"

"Why do you have a file on Paddy?"

Maura felt Jane's arms stiffen, saw an indescribable look flit across her face.

"You looked into my stuff." Jane said softly, not accusingly, just disappointed. Maura felt the guilt set in even more.

"I'm sorry, your laptop was still on."

Jane moved to a sitting position, leaving the warmth behind. Maura sat up too, tracing circles on the Italian's back, fingernails slightly digging into the woman's shoulder at every pass. The detective sighed heavily. She rubbed at her eyes. Suddenly, Maura felt horrible, she wanted to throw up. The fact that she'd finally gotten Jane after so many years of wishing and dreaming and had just broken her trust and gone through her stuff was too much. For Jane, it was an entirely different feeling altogether. Now that the doctor had seen the files, it wouldn't take long for her brain to catch up with what was going on, and she couldn't have the blonde in danger. Not this kind of danger.

"I gotta go, Maur." Jane was already slipping on her tank top.

"Jane…" Her voice broke. Rizzoli turned back around, cast her an uneasy look.

"It's not about you Maura." She assured the honey blonde. "I have things to fix."

"Things?" Maura echoed. Like what? Her relationship? The doctor felt her heart seize up. Jane bent down to kiss Maura chastely on the lips, but what had been a quick peck turned into a sliding of lips and tongues, panting from Maura, followed by a moan bubbling up from Jane's throat. The ME was trying to put as much love behind the kiss as she could, and felt the cop give back just as easily. It made her feel a bit better.

Jane broke their embrace, eyes dark.

"Don't forget to lock the door behind me."

The snow was falling heavily as Jane left the brownstone and turned her collar up. Her thumb scrolled through the contacts in her phone, and she paused momentarily at the unmarked phone number. She had never saved the contact information. She got into her car, left the engine off, dialed the number.

It ringed once. Twice. Three times. And then it clicked.

"Jane Rizzoli." The voice was low, amused, with a classic Boston accent.

"Mr. Doyle."

"Manners, Rizzoli? What is this, a charity call?"

"I know about Jamie."

The other side went silent, and for a split second, Jane wondered if the thug had hung up. She heard his breathing deepen as he took a very long sigh.

"What are you going to do?" He laughed. "Arrest me? You have no proof."

"Actually, I do." Jane's ace in the hole.

"Excuse me?" Hidden shock behind his facade. Jane felt like celebrating.

"We need to talk, Mr. Doyle."

"We do?" He snorted. "What about?"

"Your hit list."

This time, he did not act as if he wasn't surprised. "Oh? And how'd you get that?"

"Meet me, and we'll talk about it."

"Last time we saw each other, _Detective_, you shot me." He pointed out, a small smile playing in his voice. "You can't make me trust you."

"You're right, I can't." Jane acquiesced. She wasn't about to resort to begging. Not just yet. Hopefully never. What if he had a gun to her head? Would she think of Maura? Korsak? Frost? Frankie and Ma? Jo Friday? Would she ask him to spare her, or would she stare into the cold barrel of the gun and tell him to shoot? Paddy took his time to answer her.

"Do you know the old fish factory by the abandoned theater?"

She knew the city by heart. "Yes."

"Meet me there. Don't bring anyone, we'll talk. And bring your laptop." He told her. He paused. "And believe me, I _will_ follow that hit list if you don't obey me."

She believed him.

**...I'm going to bed. This was sort of an 'in-between' chapter. It'll pick up again next update! And I don't know where that 'old fish factory by the abandoned theater' came from. I know nothing about Boston...**


	10. Chapter 10 Epilogue

The harbor was cold, the wind brisk, the ground crunchy under her boots. She could feel every gust and wisp of air that went through her thin jacket, and the tall detective cursed herself for not dressing warmly. But at the same time, she hadn't planned on standing by the water for four hours.

Jane had arrived by noon, and had stayed in her car for half an hour, and realized that maybe she'd get better results if she stood _outside_. She was alone, that was true, but maybe Doyle's goons couldn't see from where she was. She had stood, sat, kneeled, done a ridiculous yoga pose to get the kinks out of her back, but nothing. The Irish mobster had not shown himself. Darkness was quickly approaching, twilight settling over the buildings, window lights turning on one by one. She was coming to a breaking point. She could tell her teeth were chattering, but her cheeks were so numb she couldn't _actually_ feel them doing so. She thought about giving up, going home, curling up with Maura, when a sound made her turn around.

Two men. One taller than the other (who was considerably fatter), both carrying guns from the way they walked and held themselves. They had nothing to fear against this woman. _Think what you will, boys._ She steeled herself.

"Rizzoli." Big announced.

"I know my name." She replied curtly.

"None o' that lip now." And Tall snapped. "Doyle's waitin' up in his office." He passed her a burlap sack. "If you would?" She gingerly took the bag, glanced at one then the other, sighed, and stuffed it over her own head.

The ride was bumpy, she knew that much. And the way he (was it Big or was it And Tall?) held her was clearly not what she'd mark as comfortable. The walk from the car to the office consisted of cold, then warm, a door creaking open and shut, her boots and their shoes _tack_ing on the hard floor underneath them. She could tell they the ground was sloping downwards ever so slowly. They walked for a very long time. _Underground._ They turned left, another door opened, and she was pushed down into a hard chair. The rag was taken off her face, and she breathed in longingly.

And stared right into Paddy Doyle's face.

"Terrified, Jane?" He asked, a smirk growing on his face. She replied almost instantly.

"Does your arm still hurt, Doyle?" Her head snapped back at the impact of Big's hand, and she tasted metal in her mouth almost instantly. Doyle tssked.

"I'm not answering anything with them in here." She spat blood onto the dark floor. Doyle snapped his head towards the door. The two thugs grudgingly left the room. Jane was able to scan the room. Empty except for the two chairs, one she was sitting in, and the table Doyle was leaning on. _Very much like an interrogation room, _she mused. The Irish mobster tilted forward and wiped at the side of Jane's mouth. She kept her eyes trained on him.

"You'll have to excuse him." He started. "He's a bit of a brute."

"I wouldn't have guessed." Doyle smiled at that, and leaned back, folding his arms over his chest, his injured arm not on the same level as the other, she noticed with slight satisfaction.

"What did you want, Rizzoli?" He asked, the steel back in his voice, all traces of kindness gone from his dark eyes. She pushed the hair out of her face.

"Jamie,"

"What about her?" An annoyed sigh.

"And 'Maura's' little hit list." Jane finished.

"Are you asking because you're scared for your own life?" Doyle raised an eyebrow.

"No." Jane shook her head. "I'm actually wondering why you won't let your daughter be happy."

It was Doyle that slapped her this time. Her lip opened again. Jane didn't look up, only looked down at her shoes as she curled her fingers into fists. She breathed in and out once, twice, thrice, then glanced up, chocolate eyes meeting gray ones.

"Hit me one more time." Jane said softly. "I've got you made."

Doyle grabbed her by her hair, yanked her up to her feet. "You don't have shit on me, Rizzoli. You never have, you never will." The man spat. "You talk to me like that again, and your ass will be at the bottom of the harbor. _You understand me_?"

"I don't care what happens to me." She replied.

He let go of her, rounded the table. "I know you don't. But you care about Maura." He shared a glance with the detective. "Maybe I should just have you removed."

Jane stiffened noticeably, and it sent Doyle into a sneer. He stood across from her, motioned the chair, but she didn't sit down again, instead balled her fists against her sides. "As long as she's safe, I don't care." She snapped.

"You're trying to believe your own words, I can tell." He stepped up to her, and whispered in her ear. "You think you can live without her. You'll tell yourself you can. For some time you will be able to. You'll almost forget her, and then out of nowhere, something will remind you of her. Designer clothes. Honey blonde hair. The flash of a badge. And it'll drive you insane, because it's never her." Jane let out a strangled gasp. "And slowly, you'll die inside. And even if she does find you, it'll be too late. A bullet through your own head. Pills. Drugs. Too much booze. We both know you're weak in the department of Maura Isles, Detective."

She turned to him. "And I know that I mean the world to her." Doyle took a step back. "That if I leave, she'll never forgive herself. That she'll wish it was me every time she saw a raven haired woman out on the street, or heard the name 'Jane'. And we both know that she's not as strong as me. She'd never take her own life." She paused, met his eyes with a renewed vigor. "No. She'd just waste away. And then even _you_ wouldn't have her."

Doyle bristled, but stepped back, and took a tour of the little room, then turned back to fix Jane with a cold stare.

"Is that what happened to Jamie?" Rizzoli asked. "You let her squander in a little apartment in Chicago until she couldn't take it anymore and risked her life to see Maura one more time? And then you shot her when she did show her face."

"There's a difference between you and Jamie, Detective." Doyle shook his head. "Maura forgot Jamie." Jane felt a pang of pride hit her heart, despite her current predicament. The two stared at each other, until Doyle finally sighed, and took a seat to bury his head in his hands. Jane frowned.

"She means the world to me." He looked up at her.

"I don't think one could have guessed." She replied curtly.

He fixed her with another glare. "That Jamie girl was nothing but trouble, I know that, I practically raised her after her daddy died. Do you know what she did for me?"

Jane shook her head no.

"She ran my accounts. Had a dozen places where my cash was untraceable. Her father was treasurer before her to _my_ father. She was good." He nodded his head. "Called her Two Cents Spence we did." He stood up abruptly. "And then she went and _fucked _my daughter." Jane winced. "_Fucked _her Rizzoli. Night after night. I told her to stop, but did she? No, she was a stubborn little shit." He said the last few words with a tinge of regret. "Just like you are Rizzoli."

"Thank you sir." She raised an eyebrow. "I find it a good trait for my line of work."

He snorted, then glanced at her. "Do you really care for her?"

"I love her." She corrected. "More than anyone else ever could. I can't bear being away from her, I want to grow old with her and have smart, bushy haired kids running around the house." She felt awkward, telling all this to Doyle, but she kept pushing on. "I'd never let anything happen to her."

"What if something happens to you?" He asked, alluding to Jamie with the way he spoke.

"Nothing will. Fate's got nothing on me." She snapped back. "I control my own destiny." He seemed to like her answer enough, and picked up her laptop that Huge had dropped on the table unceremoniously. He jabbed at the keyboard a few times, and turned it to her, the blue screen glaring at her from across the room.

"Look at that, no files." He smiled. "You must have mistaken yourself earlier." Jane said nothing.

"I'll let you live." He said quietly. "For Maura's sake, not yours." He put a finger in her face. "And if I hear she's unhappy, or that you mistreated her, god be my witness, I _will_ break every fingers of yours, one by one, and then cut out your tongue. Understood?"

She nodded weakly. Again, she believed him wholeheartedly. He rose to his full height, and smiled, albeit not as coldly as she thought he should have.

"What about this?" She blurted.

"This?" He echoed. "Never happened, Jane. Goodbye Detective."

She turned to the door being opened, gritted her teeth at the incoming fist, and felt her world go black.

"Jane?" The words came muffled, then cleared as the Italian opened her eyes slowly, methodically, and blinked a few times.

"Maur?" She croaked. The honey blonde nodded, moving Jane's black hair from her face, a small, sad smile on her face.

"You're okay."

"Of course I'm okay." Jane replied, smiling up at her. The doctor had cradled Jane's head in her lap, and as Jane looked around, she realized she was in Maura's living room, sprawled on her couch.

"How did I get here?" She asked, puzzled. Maura traced her fingers on her swollen jaw, sending slight shivers through the taller woman's body, both at the pain and at the pleasure of seeing her lover look down at her, her hair falling in ringlets about her shoulders.

"There was a knock at the door, I found you sprawled there." Maura bit her lower lip. "I could have been hallucinating, but I could have sworn I saw Paddy in the car that drove away."

"I think you did." Jane groaned as she sat up, her head swimming, her hand reaching out to grab Maura's for support.

"What happened to you?" Maura asked. "I've been worried sick."

"Is that why there's an open bottle of Chardonnay on the counter?" Jane grinned.

"Partly." Maura blushed. "That and Pike was driving me up the wall. He's been leaving nasty messages all day. What did you do to him?" Jane scrunched her nose.

"Never mind that." She took a confused Maura into her arms and kissed her head. "I love you, you know that?" The doctor melted in her arms. "And nothing will ever happen to you, got it? I swore my life up and down on that."

Maura pulled back, and searched Jane's eyes. She seemed to understand what the detective was saying, as she pieced the laptop, Paddy, and the nasty welts on her lover's body together. She broke into a teary eyed grin. "I know. I love you too, Jane. Forever and always, through the bad, the worse, and the crazy."

They kissed a light kiss, Jane barely noticing her jaw anymore.

**EPILOGUE**

"I never told her." Jane told the body. Jamie Spencer had been taken out one last time as requested by Maura after all of Pike's drunken calls, she had wanted to make sure the job had been done correctly. It was Jane who had asked her to leave so she could pay her respects. "But she'll probably figure it out one day, you know? I can't lie to her. She just hasn't asked yet. She will soon enough."

Jane fingered the tape recorder in her hand, her entire conversation with Paddy Doyle on it, waiting to be played, waiting to be shown to the world.

"I want to thank you, for all you did, even if half of it was half-assed." She whispered. "You brought me to her, opened my eyes. I'm sorry that you had to die. But you knew, didn't you? All your talks of martyrs, and her forgetting you." She closed her eyes, reliving the scene. "Damn it you knew. You moved in front of that bullet. And then you got me to call Paddy, so he could strike a deal with me, you knew how he thought, how he felt about his daughter. You're quite the composer, and I owe you one." She smiled sadly. "Your story needs to be told. But I can't endanger Maura, you knew that too, of course you did."

She took one last long glance at the girl on the slab as she toyed with the tape, bringing out the black plastic, wrinkling it, breaking it, she had half a mind to burn it, and walked away, turning off the lights as she went.

**There we are, my little ducklings, one story, done and over with :)**

**I'd love to know what you thought! And I'm never writing a long story ever again. Too much work. *sigh* and too much school. But maybe I'll try again when my computer wants to work again and I've actually got another idea. But one shots will be coming soon, I do believe. **

**Until then, godspeed!**


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